Nail extractor for pneumatic tires



0d. 18, 1949. A, R T 2,484,948

NAIL EXTRACTOR FOR PNEUMATIC TIRES Filed NOV. 2, 1948 INVENTOR:

Anion/'0 Iafrafe,

EK-m M ATTORNEY.

Patented Oct. 18, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

My device is of a type to be mounted over each individual tire, adjoining the outer periphery of its shoe portion, in a position where being held stationary it is adapted to intercept nails and other small objects imbedded in the body of the tire, as said tire moves in a rotary path past said device.

I shall now describe my said device with reference to the accompanying drawings in which,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a part of an automobile tire, and a perspective view of my device as it is mounted over said tire;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional View of said tire and a part of the axle assembly to disclose the manner of mounting my said device for use;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a perspective View of a part of a tire with a modified species of my nail extractor mounted over said tire for operative use;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of my modified species of the nail extractor with an illustration in dotted lines of the manner in which nails are being extracted thereby.

Similar numerals refer to throughout the several views.

The position of my device, generally indicated by numeral It, with respect to a tire H, as it is mounted on a wheel, is shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The device consists of a substantially fiat body member 12, substantiall rectangular in shape, and is provided on one of its broad surfaces with a plurality of ridges or fins l3 which are disposed parallel to each other. When the device is mounted for operative use, the fins are inclined in the direction opposed to that of the rotation of the wheel with which they are associated, as best shown in Fig. 3, where an arrow indicates the direction of the rotation of tire H. The device is to be mounted in place with fins facing the thread of a tire, and being in a close proximity to the outer surface thereof. As the outer surface of a tire is arched crosswise, the outer edges of the fins are curved correspondingly so that the spacing between the tire and the fins is uniform all along the length of the respective fins. This is best shown in Fig. 2, where the curvature of the fins is indicated by numeral M.

For best efliciency of the fins, in their operative use, the edges of the fins are serrated as shown by numeral I5 in Fig. 1.

It is essential for the operation of my device that it be always retained in the same relative position with respect to the wheel with which it is associated. For this reason, the device is similar parts 2 mounted not on the body of a respective automobile but on a part of the structure of the wheel itself. This is shown in Figs. 1 and 2, where the device is shown mounted on a suitable bracket.

The bracket generally indicated by numeral It, includes a vertical bar ll, secured at its lower end by means of bolts it to the hub portion Ill of a wheel 2K3, on the side facing the body of the respective automobile. At its upper end the bar contains a vertical slot 2| for admission of bolts 22 by means of which, the bar is connected to an arm 23. The slot and bolt arrangement permit vertical adjustment of the arm with respect to the bar. The upper portion of arm 23 is bent over the outer surface of the shoe portion of tire II, and serves as a supporting member of my device. The latter is affixed to the arm by rivets 24 fitting into apertures 25 in the body portion of the device.

The species shown in Figs. 4 and 5 is similarly mounted in place by means of a bracket It. Here, however, the device contains a flat body member 26 provided with apertures for connection by means of rivets or screws to arm 23 of, bracket [6, and a comb 2i, sloping in the direction opposed to that of the rotation of the wheel with which it is associated. The body member, it will be noted, is raised sufficiently above the shoe of the tire, to allow but slight spacing between the outer edge of said comb 2i and the surface of the tire. The comb itself includes a plurality of long teeth 28, in a side by side relation, the teeth being separated by narrow slots.

29, each of them terminating at its inner end with an aperture 30.

Now I shall describe the operation of my respective devices, beginning with the species shown in Figs. 1 to 3. The device is mounted in a position over the outer surface of the shoe portion of a tire, as best shown in Fig. 1. project downwardly, being inclined in the direction to oppose that of the rotation of the wheel. As the fins are very close to the outer surface of said tire, they will be in the path of any nail which may be partly imbedded in the body of the tire and projecting above the surface thereof. As a nail will encounter one of the fins, it will be pried out of the tire and permitted to fall loosely to the ground. Should it miss the first fin, the nail will encounter the second or the third one and will be forced out of its place within the fabric of the tire.

As for the species shown in Figs. 4 and 5, it is also adapted to be mounted in a spaced relation to a tire in such a manner that the teeth 28 of the device are inclined towards the surface without, however, being in contact therewith. As a nail partly imbedded in a tire will be carried by said tire 'towards my device, said nail will enter one of the slots 29 between the individual teeth, with the head 3| of the nail 32 being located over the upper surface thereof, and as the tire travels below the surface of the teeth, the head of the nail willglide upwardly along, the incline of the teeth formation; This will causethe, nail ito be gradually extracted outwardly until'thehead of the nail will be over the aperture at the inner end of the respective slot when the nail, if extracted, will be allowed to fallithroughtsaid caperture to the ground.

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic presentation of the action of my device illustratingahow-za .nail traveling upwardly along the incline between adjoining teeth, will be withdrawn from atire"by said incline.

"It wvillbe understood' that -some changes may lee-made inthe-structure of my device without departing from -the inventiveprinciple disclosed herein- What- I, *therefore,--wish to claim is as follows:

-1. In combination with -a pneumatic tire mounted =on=aawheel of a--vehicle,- a device as described sa'id device comprising a member having a dial: 3 body disp'osed over =the --shoe portion ofthe tire-and a-pluralityof teeth integrally-connected tosaid *bodyand "sloping downwardly 4 towards the surface-of the shoe, -'the teeth being separated -byoblong -slots,-each slot --terminating at its inner endwitha round aperture-of a diameter exceeding the width -of the-slot.-

Qifiln combination-with a pneumatic tire of an automobile a-nail extractor comprising a 'fiat body member, means *to support said bodymem ber in,a fixed relation of the shoe portion of-the tire',-and"-a'-cornb integrallyformed -with -said 1 flat body, the comb "bein inclinedtowards; and being disposed-at itsouter end'in a closely-spaced relation tothe surface of said-tire; said comb including -a --plurality-of individual teeth separated by' narrow =slots for "interception I of nails partly imbedded in thetire and projecting 'above 'the surface 'thereof, each slot "terminating "with *an aperture exceedingdn width the-width oi -said slot forreleasethrough said *aperture of nails intercepted bysaid teeth;

3. In combination with a pneumatic tire of a vehicle, a nail extractor of the kind described comprising a substantially flat body member in a spaced relation over the shoe of a tire, the member being provided with a plurality of individual teeth sloping from said body member towards the surface of said tire in the direction opposed to that of the rotation of the tire, the teeth being separated from each other by oblong slots viideremugh forradmissi'on ofnails partly imb'edded in"the tire, each slot being laterally expanded at its inner end into an aperture for release of said nails.

Inlnombination with a pneumatic tire of a vehicle, a.nail extractor of the kind described and-mounted in a fixed relation with respect to lsaidttire; saidsnailiextractor including a substan- ,ANTQNIQ .ZIAFRATE'.

,Th'eifollowing references are .of record in the file of this patent:

STATES -i Number "Name Date 1,17%,476 Cohen .ll/Iar. "7', "1916 123182141 ""Beran June 1,1937 "2,407,473" Carlton Sept; '10; 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS.v

Number -Country Date 3,408 France 1 Sept; 1, 1904 T761157 jswitzerland 1Nov. "1; 1917 3.81:734 Germany 1 SeptJZZl; T1923 

